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Mortiurge
“...The Guild-Dame was shot twice at close range while seated at her desk, once to the heart and once to the head, either wound would have been immediately fatal. The killer had gained access though the front door, posing as a Provost-Captain, and left the premises by walking calmly out the way he entered. Evidence recovered at the scene implicates the Guild-Dame and several other prominent Guilders of bribery of cinq-port officials and cadre enforcers. Arbites Castigation Detachments dispatched. See attached log of execution warrants Ω#77–134...” –Excerpted from Case-file Monograph, Inhumation of Lady Clasis Hortva, Arbites Marshal Gregor Lund reporting In the Imperium, totalitarian control and summary justice are often the norm rather than the exception, particularly among the teeming multitudes of a hive world, and that judgment is uniformly harsh and often fatal. Accordingly, both the Adeptus Arbites and many local enforcer cadres have need of hardened men and women whose talent lays in dealing death and summary execution rather than upholding the law or maintaining order. These troopers make up the infamous kill squads under the direct jurisdiction of the local Imperial Commander and are used to guarantee their power; they also form the feared Arbites Castigation Detachments tasked to deliver the Emperor’s wrath on the recidivist and those who would contravene high Imperial Law without fear or favor. Even among these cold-blooded killers, however, there are those whose particular skill and callous dedication to their lethal duty makes them stand out from the ranks. Singled out and specially trained to operate independently both as snipers and close-quarter gunfighters, the Adeptus Arbites refer to these specialists as Mortiurges. By the nature of their work a Mortiurge works alone, singled out from his fellows by his differences in purpose and the blood on his hands. In truth little more than judicially recognized assassins, they are often also employed to keep other law-enforcers in check when needs require. As such, these singular killers are often shunned by their colleagues and quickly learn to keep their distance, lest one day they be called on to slaughter a friend. Perhaps unsurprisingly, some in the Holy Ordos, particularly those Radical factions whose doctrines and intrigues take them into direct and often covert conflict with the Imperium’s own authorities, find ready use for these disreputable agents of order and social control. Inquisitors find unique advantage in a servant who is not only a highly trained killer, but who is also intimately familiar with law-enforcement procedures and willing to take out any target without passion or regret. 'Becoming a Mortiurge' Arbitrators who take on the role of the Mortiurge seldom do so voluntarily, as it makes them sanctioned killers rather than servants of the law, but their presence in the Adeptus Arbites itself is considered by most a necessary evil. Those that do embrace becoming a Mortiurge often fall into two categories; the embittered and jaded veteran whose skills make them a valuable asset worth saving, perhaps despite their increasingly disruptive and rogue attitudes, and the cold-blooded killer, to whom the role of judge, jury and executioner appeals on some dark and fundamental level. Required Career: Arbitrator Alternate Rank: Rank 5 or higher (3,000 XP)